A talented guitarist, and 100 classic riffs add up to sounding like nothing remotely musical at all.

Interesting find, though.posted by The Deej at 3:51 PM on September 6, 2009

Listening to that is exactly like being in a guitar store.

Ha!

Get's a 10 for the idea, but only a 7 for execution -- his rhythm was off on many of the riffs and a lot of the transitions were rickety, although the last 5-10 or so were pretty well done.posted by Saxon Kane at 3:52 PM on September 6, 2009

Saxon Kane: Yeah, I heard those mistakes too. As a guitarist, and a music lover, I was also struck by how freakin' hard it must be to play all these sequentially.

That is, these riffs and rhythms are so burned into my head, it hurt a little just hearing them moved through so quickly. My brain automatically finishes each classic phrase even while the next one is barreling on in. I give him props for being able to switch to quickly between such imprinted, canonical riffs.posted by lazaruslong at 3:59 PM on September 6, 2009

I remember when I was around 11 or 12 I was looking at guitars in a store and all I knew how to play at the time was the opening to Crazy Train. So I picked up the guitar and did my 11 year old best version of the song. Then this man next to me decides that he's going to pick up a guitar and do an even better version of Crazy Train. Nothing like showing up an 11 year old kid!

"I remember when I was around 11 or 12 I was looking at guitars in a store and all I knew how to play at the time was the opening to Crazy Train. So I picked up the guitar and did my 11 year old best version of the song. Then this man next to me decides that he's going to pick up a guitar and do an even better version of Crazy Train. Nothing like showing up an 11 year old kid!"

... and thus the world discovered the real reason why Sir Sandor Clegane was to later become so cruel and heartless. I damn you middle-age-guitar-store-guy. I damn you.posted by datter at 4:12 PM on September 6, 2009 [3 favorites]

How can you not have Satisfaction in there? Sheesh.

No kidding. And no "How Do I Get You Alone?" Philistine.posted by Mayor Curley at 4:13 PM on September 6, 2009

Jesus H Christ, tough crowd on MetaFilter lately. Sorry you didn't enjoy the YouTube video and this guy's guitar technique and tone killed your mother. Have a great night!posted by lazaruslong at 5:31 PM on September 6, 2009 [1 favorite]

(Side note - should we make something like . but for "I liked it" instead of "May they rest in peace" ?)posted by andreaazure at 5:45 PM on September 6, 2009

TAKE YOUR PINKIE OFF THE BODY OF THE GUITAR

if it's good enough for Bruce Cockburn, it's good enough for you, pleb.posted by klanawa at 5:50 PM on September 6, 2009

I can respect his talent, but I almost turned it off when he started with Stairway... Playing that song gets your ass banned from any stringed instrument in my house.

I'd like to see the idea expanded into more of a song, instead of a mish-mash of sound and time signatures.posted by Dark Messiah at 5:53 PM on September 6, 2009

Ruins don't do a hundred songs, but do quite a few with bass and drums.

I thought I had seen some video of them playing this, but I guess not.posted by glycolized at 5:57 PM on September 6, 2009

This guy reminds me of every dude I was ever in a band with.

Specifically, it reminds me of every guitarist while the lead singer was trying to talk.posted by Pope Guilty at 5:59 PM on September 6, 2009 [8 favorites]

This video made me think of Mariah Carey, and not in a good way. Great example of that whole, "just because you can, doesn't mean you should" line of thought.

Yeah, it's a neat idea, but gah. GAH. Not to offend the OP, or anything....posted by Richat at 6:07 PM on September 6, 2009

I really don't like his left hand technique, and his right is pretty bad too. But I think the pressure of getting 100 riffs right all in a row would make my technique suffer a little as well.

I like how he kept switching in and out of overdrive depending on the song.

I gotta say though - man there were some bad riffs in the 80's. So many riffs that were just "ok these couple of chords up here on the neck .... aaaaaand, hm now what? ... oh yeah - chugga chugga on the bottom E string. And do that all again." I wouldn't mind hearing it all again in chronological order actually.posted by awfurby at 6:16 PM on September 6, 2009

I'd like to see a guitarist do this, but tying it together more like girl talk or soulwax would do a mix cd. This was just random and had zero flow.posted by empath at 6:18 PM on September 6, 2009

WALL OF WANK! I totally enjoyed this.posted by serazin at 6:19 PM on September 6, 2009

Jesus H Christ, tough crowd on MetaFilter lately. Sorry you didn't enjoy the YouTube video and this guy's guitar technique and tone killed your mother. Have a great night!

Noo! Don't leave. We need you, man. Don't break up the band over this.
;)posted by water bear at 6:22 PM on September 6, 2009 [1 favorite]

Specifically, it reminds me of every guitarist while the lead singer was trying to talk.

You may have noticed that the lead guitarist only does this when the lead singer speaks, but remains silent when anyone else in the band is talking. There's a reason for this.

(Note to my lead singer: I'm kidding. But I'm still probably not going to stop playing while you talk.)posted by The World Famous at 6:33 PM on September 6, 2009 [3 favorites]

I liked it, lazaruslong. And it's pretty damn seldom I like anything you post.

That guy has little hands with long, spidery fingers. Do you have to have long, spidery fingers to play guitar well?posted by Crabby Appleton at 6:37 PM on September 6, 2009

Ah, maudlin, the Great House of Guitars, with the weirdest, best commercials EVER. A friend and I drove to Rochester to see that place when I was in my first year of university. From northern Ontario...a good 7-8 hour drive if I recall correctly. In the winter. It was worth it.posted by Richat at 7:11 PM on September 6, 2009 [2 favorites]

That's cool that this guy has a talent, knows tons of fun riffs like the back of his hand, and had a neat idea to do 100 of them in a little youtube video as a means to inspire his students and other viewers.

All the haters can go sit on their damn thumbs for all I care. He wins some internets.posted by dopamine at 7:56 PM on September 6, 2009 [3 favorites]

It's a bit silly to take your disappointment that the responses did not reflect your expectations public, isn't it? Just make the post and let others think what they want! You shared! We watched! Everyone wins!posted by hippybear at 8:16 PM on September 6, 2009

I liked it, though it did start to drive me batty the first time I listened through, trying to play "name that tune" with 2-second cover version segments of songs which fell out of my head as the next one came and went. It was more enjoyable with the song list alongside it.

His right hand technique didn't bother me, although the tone issue - well, it made me laugh more than anything else, because it seemed like he set it specifically to be dead-on for "Hell's Bells" and then decided that would be close enough for all the rest.posted by Navelgazer at 8:25 PM on September 6, 2009

Holy shit, yes! He has talent, for sure but weedling away with a pointy guitar through some shitty chorus effect? Yikes.posted by KevinSkomsvold at 9:57 PM on September 6, 2009

This was awesome. One problem though. "Eye of the tiger" isn't a guitar riff. It's a spiritual invocation to reach deep down into ourselves and overcome our fears and weaknesses, while awakening our primal hunter instincts in order to vanquish our foes, both real and imaginary.posted by billyfleetwood at 10:10 PM on September 6, 2009 [27 favorites]

billyfleetwood, I wish I could click the plus sign next to your comment a few more times. Thank you for that. =)posted by andreaazure at 10:31 PM on September 6, 2009

What stargell said. That's pretty awful tone.

I dunno. I guess it makes the riffs sound clearer, but it's like all the soul has been drained out of them.posted by bardic at 10:32 PM on September 6, 2009

This was actually pretty rad. He's technically proficient and it's fun to play the game of "which riff is that?" as you're listening to it. That said, I'm pretty sure I heard "Cat Scratch Fever" in there at least twice.

well what he's got in quantity he sure is lacking in quality.posted by ElmerFishpaw at 11:07 PM on September 6, 2009

I was coming in here to say "Needs moar technique!" but I see that's already been said. You guys have mentioned the poor tone too... So it's looks like I'm not really needed here.

Except to say, is this the first time we've seen an OP flame-out in the original thread rather than over in Meta?posted by benzo8 at 12:59 AM on September 7, 2009

I wish somebody would make a shared spotify playlist of all of those (because I fear I might end up doing lol)posted by 13twelve at 1:29 AM on September 7, 2009

I could do that on the accordian.posted by Twang at 1:37 AM on September 7, 2009

I wish somebody would make a shared spotify playlist of all of those (because I fear I might end up doing lol)

That's a bloody good idea... but must. get. work. done. today...posted by mahke at 2:54 AM on September 7, 2009

I was pleased to hear the Mr. Sandman/Enter Sandman switch.

Yes, but I feel like he missed an opportunity by putting "Smells Like Teen Spirit" and "More Than a Feeling" so far away from one another.posted by HeroZero at 5:08 AM on September 7, 2009

Your favorite guitar riff sucks.
But this guy is talented.posted by njbradburn at 5:11 AM on September 7, 2009

Circa 1985 I taped all my favorite riffs to a cassette, just like this, back to back. I didn't have 100 albums yet, so it was more like 40 riffs, maybe 8 minutes. I recall lining up all the Louie-Louie type power chords: "Can't Explain", "No Feelings", "Clash City Rockers"; Bob Mould's chunkata-chunkata solo in "Turn on the News" next to "Immigrant Song". Wish that cassette would turn up. Just thinking about brought back how much I loved the springboard echo that opens up U2's "Day Without Me". It's been at least a decade since I considered that song's existence.posted by bendybendy at 5:49 AM on September 7, 2009

Bono really recovered from that landslide in his ego!posted by bendybendy at 5:51 AM on September 7, 2009

How can you not have Satisfaction in there?

Duh: can't get no satisfaction. (Hey, hey hey.)posted by wenestvedt at 5:59 AM on September 7, 2009

At the risk of being That Guy Who Namedrops A Wankster God, but even John Petrucci rests his pinky on his guitar when he's doing fast bits. It costs a bit of rawk cred to hold your pick hand like the Queen drinking tea, but sometimes the balance is nice.posted by Schlimmbesserung at 10:13 AM on September 7, 2009

...pretend there's no "but" in that second clause. Still on my first cup of coffee today.posted by Schlimmbesserung at 10:13 AM on September 7, 2009

TAKE YOUR PINKIE OFF THE BODY OF THE GUITAR

Why?

If you're not careful, you wind up with the muscles in your hand and wrist doing all the work. That makes things easier when you're just starting out, because you're used to doing precise stuff with those muscles. But for a lot of players it turns into sort of a technical dead end — they get cramps because the hand muslces are relatively weak and get tired easily, and they have trouble playing hard or switching between single-string playing and chords, so they wind up having to go back and relearn their RH technique without the anchor.

(I went through this on the mandolin a while ago. I was all, "Hey, I'll play however I play! Don't judge me!" and then after a few years it got to where I couldn't play for more than a few minutes without cramps and I had to start over from scratch. Pain in the ass.)posted by nebulawindphone at 10:54 AM on September 7, 2009

I'm not sure what you mean about the "hand and wrist doing all the work." Picking is a wrist motion. I prefer to rest the heel of my palm on the bridge when picking single strings, but that doesn't work so well with a floating bridge and pinkie anchoring accomplishes the same thing. I let my students do either. The guy in the video seems to do just fine.posted by ludwig_van at 11:05 AM on September 7, 2009

Hey, if you teach guitar then you know way more than me on the subject. I was passing on the explanation I got from the teacher who got me to quit pinky anchoring. All I know is, the change made playing a lot less painful for me.posted by nebulawindphone at 12:24 PM on September 7, 2009

damn this place has become pretty hostile over the years... Threadshitting? Is that becuase you think that masturbating is such a negative thing? I happen to like it and sometimes prefer it even if my girlfriend is sleeping next to me in bed. And benzo8, So I'm a douchebag because I thought he was pretty good and I wished I had the time and dedication to do what he can? What exactly was the offense here? You guys seriously are calling me names because of this?

I own a small nightclub and love and appreciate when an artists go up on stage and just goes off especially if he/she is technically talented. So fuck you guys, its still

He's a douche. And a wanker.posted by benzo8 at 7:29 AM on September 13, 2009

damn this place has become pretty hostile over the years... Threadshitting? Is that becuase you think that masturbating is such a negative thing? I happen to like it and sometimes prefer it even if my girlfriend is sleeping next to me in bed. And benzo8, So I'm a douchebag because I thought he was pretty good and I wished I had the time and dedication to do what he can? What exactly was the offense here? You guys seriously are calling me names because of this?

I own a small nightclub and love and appreciate when an artists go up on stage and just goes off especially if he/she is technically talented. So fuck you guys, its still

MUSIAL MASTERBATION to me.
posted by elemenopee

Take the time to write out a coherent thought about a thread you choose to participate in. Threadshitting is dropping a trite snark for no good reason. If you can't understand the difference, that's on you.posted by lazaruslong at 7:52 AM on September 13, 2009

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